As international humanitarian and military aid floods into Ukraine to support the country’s resistance against Russia’s invasion, it is important to ensure this aid is used with integrity and reaches its intended targets. On this front, the international community’s experience in Afghanistan since 2001 offers a cautionary tale to the world today on the potential… Read More
Fighting Pro-Russia Disinformation in the Western Balkans Requires Beneficial Ownership Transparency
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the threat of pro-Russian disinformation in media markets throughout Europe and Eurasia. Some Western Balkan countries like Montenegro have responded to this danger by banning Russian media outlets outright. But these kinds of policies will not be effective without greater media ownership transparency. Media ownership transparency would expose the… Read More
Over the past few years, beneficial ownership transparency policies have gained traction around the world. As of 2018, 18 countries had announced commitments to implementing beneficial ownership transparency policies. They include France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. This rapid increase begs a few questions: what is beneficial ownership transparency, what do beneficial ownership transparency policies… Read More
Total, one of France’s largest oil and gas companies, is on the verge of being sued by dozens of French NGOs and climate activists for failing to meet its legal obligation to respond to the climate crisis. Groups such as Les Eco Maires have signed onto a June 2019 letter indicating that unless Total strengthens… Read More
Photo credit: Armenian Lawyer’s Association By Liza Lenz Jedwab, Assistant Program Officer with CIPE’s Europe Eurasia team, and Monica Nates, Program Assistant with CIPE Until recently, democratic reform in Armenia seemed unlikely, with oligarchs maintaining a tight grip on the country’s economy and political agenda. For years, observers such as Freedom House had classified Armenia… Read More